Chambliss names Senate Ag Committee staff director

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss has named Martha Scott Poindexter as staff director for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Poindexter, a native of Morgan City, Miss., formerly served as legislative director for Chambliss, a Georgia Republican. Chambliss was elected chairman of the Agriculture Committee on Jan. 3, replacing Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who became chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“It is an honor to have Martha Scott remain on my team and serve in this new capacity,” said Chambliss. “Martha Scott has been a great asset to me. Her expertise and seasoned advice as well as her ability to get things done on Capitol Hill will be invaluable to me as Chairman.”

She first joined Chambliss during his first term as a member of the House of Representatives serving as the senior legislative assistant for agriculture and natural resources.

From 1997-2001, Poindexter served as a professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture for then Subcommittee Chairman Thad Cochran. She has also served as a director of government relations for Monsanto in Washington, and, for the past two years, she has served as legislative director for Sen. Chambliss in his Washington, D.C. office.

Poindexter will be responsible for all aspects of the Committee’s legislative and administrative activities and functions while reporting directly to the chairman. She will also assist the Committee’s Senators in developing and implementing policy objectives and political strategies for agriculture policy.

Poindexter is a 1989 graduate of Mississippi State University. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Poindexter of Morgan City, Miss.